


There must be another life

by flyingisabetterwordforfalling (FlyingFalling)



Category: Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Awkwardness, Best Friends, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Getting Together, Herongraystairs, Humor, Love Confessions, M/M, Moving In Together, Multi, OT3, Polygamy, Romantic Friendship, Sharing a Bed, Sleeping Together, Sleepy Cuddles, Students, they deserve nice things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-16 13:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8104549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingFalling/pseuds/flyingisabetterwordforfalling
Summary: "Has anyone ever told you just how married you are?"Theresa Gray leaned against the doorframe, even managing to surprise Will who was still hugging Jem, awkwardly turning both of them so he could face Tessa. He grinned at her over Jem's shoulder, waving with one hand. Tessa's hair was tousled and she gazed at Jem's dish as if she had not eaten in days and would devour it within seconds if he let her. Jem, after not even two months of knowing her did not have to guess to know she would. Thus he smiled against Will's chest before trying to duck away, only to be overdramatically captured by Will -again.





	

**Author's Note:**

> (These three deserved so much more than what they got in the end. I just want the to be happy together. -I hope you enjoy reading this.)

Will loved his family, always had. Still, they tended to get overprotective and therefore he had decided to leave them for a while, or rather as long as he studied literature as well as arts -slightly abroad, to the great dismay of his sisters. Their parents were sad to see him go, but also very proud of him. Cecily had cried when they finally said goodbye at the airport right after Ella had almost crushed him with her hug despite still teasing him, and warning her younger brother not to get to close to a flock of ducks during the flight. Or at all.  
Still, he was glad about his decision. When Jem had offered they should move in together Will had almost immediately taken the chance, had packed his bags and left Wales behind to move to a little town in England.  
For months now he had been looking for a decent flat, far away from his parents and sisters to not fuss over him all the time; a flat close enough to his university and one he could actually afford. 

About a week ago Jem had called to announce he had found the perfect flat and all he needed now was a flat mate to be able to actually move into his new home. Who could be more fitting to move in with him than his best friend he added with a warm tone in his voice, yet Jem had also told him that there would be at least one other person who would life with them for at least a few months until they had eventually found a different place to stay. 

With a warning tone he had told Will this certain someone was a young woman, a cousin or friend of one of Jem's adoptive siblings and Will had teased him about their supposed rule never to live with the person you fancied. He had not seen Jem at the time, still knew he had most certainly rolled his eyes at him. 

Now he stood in the apartment they would share for some time: three bedrooms, a tiny kitchenette just barely big enough for a small family or rather three people living together and even the bathroom was tiny. Will actually chuckled when Jem showed him the room he had chosen.  
Expect for Jem's queen-size bed the room was almost entirely empty, a few piles of books lay neatly stacked under the bed. The medical student had always been tidy, yet in Will's opinion his room looked almost too clean. He told Jem as much.

Jem put his hand on his arm, leading him out of the room and to a closed door. He smiled when he opened it.

"This will be your room; Miss Gray will be sleeping next to the bathroom."

"So, next to yours?" Will wiggled his eyebrows and Jem answered with an exerted sigh. 

"She asked for the boxroom. I don't understand why she wanted the smallest one of the rooms or the one under the roof pitch but she told me the lighting there would be best for her to draw in the mornings. To capture the first beams of sunlight."

"We'll be living with an art student, then?"

"If you don't scare her off, then yes, yes we will. -Strictly speaking she won't be living here for at least another week. She warned me already she might one day just be here without telling us beforehand. Miss Gray, or rather Tessa already has a key, so she won't have to wait for one of us to open the door for her."

"I won't, I swear... Cross my heart and hope to die." Will swore, actually putting his hand on his heart and Jem mumbled something under his breath about him coming back from the dead anyway should he lie about his intentions. 

 

"Jem, did you set the kitchen on fire or what happened in here?" greeted Will his friend some time later, when he came home in the evening. They had arranged the furniture -the chairs did not actually fit together but at least their kitchen looked cosy by now. 

Jem, a saucepan between his gloved hands turned around and looked at him as if he considered just throwing their supper at his best friend, seemed to think better of it and put it on the table. 

"No 'honey, I'm home' this time?" He deadpanned.

Will grinned, ignoring the look Jem gave him when he tossed his jacket over the back of his chair and stalked over to him, to ruffle his hair. 

"James, my dear, it's rather boring to be such a master of words without you reacting to them at all."

Jem's expression was blank expect for the faint smile on his lips. Lips Will traced with the tip of his fingers, tugging softly at the corners. Jem's smile seemed to turn into a pout before he playfully tried to bite one of Will's fingers, the smile now unmistakably and honest, making his eyes shine with glee. Will in return chuckled lightly, leaning down to hug his friend.

"I'm the biter, remember?" He whispered into his ear, before he pressed a fast kiss on the other's forehead. 

 

"Has anyone ever told you just how married you are?" 

Theresa Gray leaned against the doorframe, even managing to surprise Will who was still hugging Jem, awkwardly turning both of them so he could face Tessa. He grinned at her over Jem's shoulder, waving with one hand. Tessa's hair was tousled and she gazed at Jem's dish as if she had not eaten in days and would devour it within seconds if he let her. Jem, after not even two months of knowing her did not have to guess to know she would. Thus he smiled against Will's chest before trying to duck away, only to be overdramatically captured by Will -again.

"I've missed you, Jem."

"What have you done to my Will, he doesn't hug people to death …I'm not your cuddly toy!" 

Despite his words and fake struggling he suddenly leaned against Will again, letting the other carry him the few steps over to the sink before he let him down there. Then Will put the dishes on the counter and inspected the used pans as if nothing ever happened. Still, he turned around to look at Tessa, addressing her with an amused shine in his eyes.

"To answer your question: Yes, it was you. About ten times a day, ever since you've moved in here."

Tessa grinned and helped Will set the table, while Jem rinsed the used pots and pans. Soon after her bare feet lay on Jem's lap while she sat on Will's. They had yet to buy another chair, or simply repair the one that stood unsteadily on three legs in a corner of the room, a testament to Will's and Tessa's first meeting. She had mistaken him for a burglar and almost knocked him out with the piece of furniture, breaking one of the wooden legs in the progress -and almost Will's shoulder as well.

Meeting Jem in person for the first time had been much less violent; anyhow there had been a lot of screaming involved. Even though the three of them had spoken about all of them seemingly coming home at the oddest hours and Will having met Tessa already she had startled Jem in the morning, just a few hours after getting to know her other new roommate. 

Sleepily she had gone to bed -had missed her door and went into Jem's bedroom, waking him when she had sat down on the edge of his bed to crawl under the covers. She had screamed a hand already on the blanket, when he barely even awake by then had instinctively tried to defend himself from the supposed threat, grabbing for her wrist. Just as startled as him Tessa had screamed. From then on the night had had descended into chaos, Will came rushing in, turning the lights on in passing, barely even dressed at all and Tessa, still terrified screamed at the sight of the almost naked man in front of her even louder. She hid her face as Will sleepily had looked down, only then realizing that he was not wearing anything under his shirt and had pulled it down, entirely red in the face. 

Jem, finally awake by then had let go of her wrist, hunched over, hiding his face and giggling at the sight of the two of them. That night, he had an asthma attack and Will, after he had handed Jem his asthma spray, had promptly ordered him to make way and told him he would sleep next to him, to make sure he was okay for the rest of the night.

At that time, Jem tired from his studies had already snuggled up against him, after years of Will being over careful when it came to his health too used to his behaviour to shoo him away. Blushing Tessa had asked if she should leave the two of them alone, and Will had explained to her that he had taken care of Jem ever since the two of them had been children and after seeing her surprised expression he quickly explained they were not looking for a female roommate to cover them being a couple or anything like that at all. Still, if to decrease the meaning of his word, he added he loved Jem, had then looked at the other with a fond smile which made Tessa leave for good. 

At first, she had been surprised just how close Will and Jem were and had decided they in fact were in love -even with Will having told her there was nothing else to their relationship than their brotherly love for one another. Well, in her opinion their love was way deeper than that. Even the way they smiled at each other sometimes felt just too intimate, too personal for her to see. 

After her decision to get the two of them together she eventually realized she did not actually want them to be together after all. Which was not completely true, she did want them to be together and still felt left out. This confused her even more. 

They spent their time, or rather their late evenings together almost always like that. They ate and talked, nothing ever changed. It had simply become one of their little traditions. One or two of them cooked dinner, while the remaining one or ones set the table. Then they ate dinner, sometimes they sat together way past midnight and just chatted about everything. They were friends, yet Tessa longed for something she could not name.

It was one of these evenings, that Will feel asleep on the couch they had replaced the broken chair with -cramped against the wall, yet it still fit and did not occupy too much space and Jem swore Tessa had worked magic by making their flat lively and comfortable to live in. 

"Tessa?"

"Hmm?" She asked and looked up from her cup of tea. 

"I don't want to make you uncomfortable..." Jem started and broke off, looking out of the window behind her. She knew what he was about to say, knew he wanted to change what to her was enough, felt right enough even if she was not fully happy.

"Then please don't."

Jem was silent after that; they sat there in silence for a long time, before she began to speak again. She could not bear watching him like that, obviously feeling down, feeling already rejected without her having said anything of that sort.

"You love him, don't you? Will always flirts with me and I am so sorry for that, Jem." she took his hand in hers, relieved when he let her touch him and did not pull away. His hand felt cold even laying on the even colder tabletop. Jem merely shrugged, yet his gaze met hers. The honesty in his eyes was nearly piercing. 

"I may love you all the same."

Taken aback Tessa leaned back a little, her hand still on his. He traced the back of it with his fingers, which he did not seem to notice, shortly smiling down on the table before looking up again, waiting for her answer. 

"Jem, I don't want even one of you having to choose. It wouldn't be fair to either of you, you don't know me like you know him!" She protested, her argument sounding weak to her own ears.

It hurt, of course it hurt, but it was the truth. She knew she had had a slight crush on Will for a while now, still at the same time developing a crush on her other roommate as well had only made her situation even more complicated than before. Jem was obviously in love with Will who had flirted with her almost from the very beginning; expect maybe from their first interaction.

"Is it selfish to ask if you would want to go out with me and try to go out with him as well? I am not making a facile remark or intend to imply wanting to have a friends-with-benefits arrangement with either of you, Tessa. Will and I talked about it. He made it clear enough, I think, that he's as interested in being with you as I am willing to try what might happen between us."

Tessa actually gasped. 

"You are asking me out, on his behalf... and yours?"

In the back Will yawned, he stretched his arms a little; almost too fluid for someone to just having woken up and Tessa looked away, watching him from the side. Had he been pretending to sleep, too nervous to ask her the very things Jem had just asked her?

Now Jem actually did smile at her. All too hopefully, looking from her to Will who just stood there, a few steps away, just watching the two of them as well. Unmoving. She feared to shatter his expectation, everything he wished for, their expectations she corrected herself silently. It surprised her immensely, when Will came over, getting down on his knees between the other two on the floor.

"Tess, this is not meant as a competition to see who you are going to choose in the end." Tessa held his gaze, when he put his hand over hers and Jem's. There was no snide comment that he would obviously be the one she would end up with which eventually was the final straw for her. They were indeed serious about their proposal. The otherwise charming Will who now stumbled on his words, and Jem who she had never seen with such a serious and almost vacant stare masking his otherwise calm expression were indeed asking her if she wanted to be in a relationship with not one but both of them. 

"Guys, please... stop. Let me think about it!" 

She removed her hand from where it lay surrounded by Jem's as well as Will's, feeling as if she were slowly being suffocated by their words. Deep down knowing she was too overwhelmed to react rationally she hurried out of the room.

 

In the early morning, after having tried to fall asleep for hours, Tessa slowly tiptoed over to Will's room, knocked and got in when a drowsy voice answered from inside the room, allowing her to come in. She was not at all surprised to see Jem, once again huddled up against Will, his arms around the other man and his cheek pressed to his stomach. 

"May.... May I?" She asked, her voice shaking as much as she did with nervousness.

Will seemed to understand her even without saying another word, he lifted the blanket a little, moving over and gently moving Jem as well to make enough room for Tessa. She lay down next to him, on her side even though the bed was big enough for the three of them.

"I thought you two weren't-"

Will softly interrupted her before she could say as much as another word. 

"We aren't, I doubt that I would ever want to sleep with him like that but I love him, I think it's the same for him, I believe he feels the same about me. We are not sexually attracted to one each other, but-"

"-You are to me." She finished his sentence and slightly blushed under his gaze, especially when he nodded and reached for her face, gently caressing her cheek, following the line of her neck, only to let his fingers trail back to her cheek again.

"We are," he answered, his voice slightly hoarse as he watched her, "Neither of us ever thought about being with the same person before but people change and along came you, Tess. Jem told me he wants me to be happy, ready to ignore his feelings for my sake and I want to see the two of you being happy together as well. Therefore I asked him if he wanted to be with us both, you and me. And I'm sorry for not having asked you beforehand. I even tried to test out if you were interest in dating in general, because for a while you seemed to be repulsed by the mere thought dating us, rejected me more firmly than ever and even shoved Jem away..." 

They were silent, but now the silence was not awkward or uncomfortable. It was soothing, helped her clear her mind. All these things she had done in an attempt not to fall even more in love with the, it had not worked. Not in the slightest. She still had so many questions, how their relationship would be like, how the whole sexuality thing was going to work out because she knew neither of them was in some way asexual.  
Nevertheless, all these questions had to wait for when Jem, as well as her and Will were actually awake to discuss everything in a few hours. Despite, there was a slightly more important question.

"Did I pass the test?" Tessa whispered eventually, and closed her eyes, only when Will chuckled lightly, opening them again to see that he was caressing Jem's neck, or rather fondly petting his hair, as well. She reached for Jem's hand, which lay on Will's chest. Her eyes filled with tears, when Jem smiled in his sleep and snuggled a little more against Will which he seemed to do almost automatically, almost as if he knew exactly who was touching him, content with being there next to both of them. Will's voice was filled with joy as well as tenderness.

"With flying colours."  
 

**Author's Note:**

> “There must be another life, she thought, sinking back into her chair, exasperated. Not in dreams; but here and now, in this room, with living people. She felt as if she were standing on the edge of a precipice with her hair blown back; she was about to grasp something that just evaded her. There must be another life, here and now, she repeated. This is too short, too broken. We know nothing, even about ourselves.”
> 
>  
> 
> ― Virginia Woolf, The Years


End file.
